Are you sure you're not just agreeing with Gene because he asked you to go to Madrid with him?

Oh, and "continue to pay" implies that "Lethal Weapon 4" and "What Women Want" weren't, somehow, enough...

I don't think the "creepy" test really works. In my book, Woody Allen is pretty creepy but his carreer seems to have recovered.

I think the real test in Hollywood is how much of a money-maker you're perceived to be. If MJ had just cut "Thriller," his career might have survived his trial. Mel Gibson, who most people believe can still bring in the bucks, will likely survive this scandal.

Comparing Mel to OJ is over the top. I mean, we were offended by his remarks, but he didn't kill anybody.

I think in 4 months everbody will forget this.

After all, Paris Hilton used the N word, and Woody Allen is dating his daughter.

So what's a little anti-semitism? Especially since he was drunk and his father was drilling that stuff into his head since he was old enough to mess his diapers.

Certainly I was appalled at Mr. Gibson's actions. He'll survive, however, because Hollywood's concern has always been the bottom line. The DaVinci Code, which blasted Christianity in general and Opus Dei in particular, was a best selling book and is bringing in megabucks as a movie. But we'll never see a movie about the Masons (now THERE'S a secret organization) or The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is just as insulting to Jews as The DaVinci Code is to Christians (and just as untrue).

Like Eileen, I've been saving money on Gibson films for a long while anyway, so not paying for new ones won't be any different. And yes, Gibson has now passed the point of creep out return. Alcohol releases inhibitions, allowing Mel to express - in really disturbing ways - noxious beliefs that he's held for a lifetime. The problem isn't alcoholism, though, and it's no youthful indiscretion. I hope people don't forget. It's not some repent-and-all-will-be-forgiven kind of thing. Judging by preceding posts, there are people who don't get it at all.

Bleck. What a jerk.

Um, are there any "Christians" who actually practice what they preach?

I checked out after Braveheart. I figured any man that could mangle Scottish history that badly never deserves my money again.

I agree that it's terrible that he's a raging anti-Semitic, but I'm still p.o.'d that he ruined what is in truth a great story so that he could indulge himself.

If Woody Allen survived (and he is a pedophile), then Mel will too.

If Woody Allen survived, and he is a pedophile, then Mel will too.

I think we are forgetting about Mr Robert Kelly (R Kelly). Has this man seen the inside of a court room since his "video" was recovered? He still seems to be making hits. For someone to point the finger at Mel like he's some sort of monster is pretty funny. We need to stop looking at celebrities (Especially overrated ones) as infallible heroes (Especially when they drink). Mel has enough money to finance his own projects. Im sure he'll be fine. Im not crying for him. In regards of the "time of apology" arguement, you either forgive him or you wont. Who cares if he waited a few days. That's how celebrities do things. If this was a close personal friend would you be so critical? Perhaps he WAS conjuring up something that his dad had said to him in the past. For the people who think Mel is Anti-Semitic, you are the reason I am Agnostic (you accuse/blame/think someone or something of being something without any real concrete evidence to back up the accusations.) Sure, it's a bit funny to see someone famous fall from grace, but to ostracize someone for mouthing off while drunk is a bit harsh IMHO. Im not even a fan of Mel!

I actually don't think I've ever spent any money on a Mel Gibson film, so I'm not sure I was qualified to answer the poll, but no, I'm certainly not going to start now. I love it when people I disliked all along prove me right.

mel gibson showed he's a homophobic ass a number of years ago. "passion" and now his anti-jewish outburst just shows more of his true colors. send him back to the Australian outback for good.

A muslim man enters a Jewish community center in Seattle and shoots six women he beleives to be jewish - one of whom is visibly pregnant. He's trying to kill all of them and manages to kill one of them with a shotgun blast to the face. Two days later Abe Foxman is talking about the need to demonstrate how jews control hollywood by destroying the career of an actor/director who made an unfortunate comment at a time when he is proven to be drunk. I don't get it.

I think your poll left out a few things like: Would you pay to see Mel Gibson in a bad romantic comedy, a bad war movie (Did anyone else realize that the Patriot was Braveheart with uniforms instead of kilts?), or a weird religious movie?

I think though the answer will always be no.

Do you think that MG, as a pious Christian could also be upset that Israel that contains many historic sites of his faith is once again in a hard spot? I don't doubt that he recognizes Jesus as Jewish, and historically, Jesus' persecutors were Jewish, and the faiths diverged, just like the United States and England did politically. The U.S. government was modelled on the British system, and many Christian rituals (especially the Catholic faith, as one of the oldest faiths) come from the Jewish rituals. This is one of the many reasons I have a hard time believing NG has an anti-Semitic mindset. Would I see a movie that he has made? Depends on the movie, just like all the rest of the movies. My first criteria for seeing a movie is not the career of an actor or the director...Is this a slow news week?

For me, the key is whether I can continue to believe in them as a character in a movie. If I'm spending too much mental effort being skeezed out by Mel's anti-semitism or Tom's mental breakdown, I can't separate the actor from the character.

I think I'm over it for both those guys.

Yeah, I stopped watching new Mel movies years ago -- the last one I went to was The Patriot, and I only saw that because a guy I really liked invited me to go with him. I laughed out loud during Braveheart, and after LW4 it took a hot date to get to me see any of his movies. However I did like a few from way back when -- the first two Mad Max flicks as well as Gallipoli.

Perplexed, what is there to be perplexed about? The first incident was obviously 1000% more severe, and the public has reacted accordingly. Mel Gibson's hate speech should be characterized as much more serious than "an unfortunate comment," however. As has been said above, drinking tends to lower one's inhibitions, but generally does NOT lead people to say or do things they normally don't believe in. Plus, his blood alcohol level was .12. That's not that high- he wasn't THAT drunk.
Moreover, if this incident had occurred in a vacuum, that would be one thing- but Mel has revealed his anti-semitic side before. He has refused to renounce the beliefs of his father, a Holocaust denier, and he refused to take clearly anti-semitic content out of his "passion" movie (and later lied about it).
Finally, remember Trent Lott? His comments about Strom Thurmond and desegregation pretty much ruined his political career. Hollywood should step up and show Gibson at least as much of a cold shoulder as Lott received.

Personally, I think I'm far more skeeved out by his statements when taken in context of other things he said that night. Calling a female officer "sugar t-ts"? That's wrong and he knows it. So why hasn't he apologized for that yet? It seems that Mr. Gibson is only willing to apologize for bad behavior when he gets called out on it. If he were really sorry, it wouldn't have taken him this long to do something about it, and he would be apologizing for everything, not just what his publicist tells him to.

My response is Mel who? I've always thought he was overrated. Any apology coming from him would be self-serving and not sincere in my book. It's all about saving his cash flow.

Mel pretty much managed to insult all of humanity with his petulant, violent outburst. Enough of him already. There are dozens actors ready and willing to step into his shoes (although they'll definitely have to be stretched). Mel is a little man with a little man complex (look at the mug shot - he has too look up at the camera).

The Davinci Code was obviously 'what if' fiction designed to sell books. It was not presented as fact.

I read the Davinci Code. I actually found it to be quite respectful to Christianity as a concept.

Protocols is a hateful bit of propaganda designed specifically to cause hatred and violence against Jews. It is falsely and hatefully presented as fact.

Big, big difference.

Take it easy people. He meant to say "Israel is the major source of instability in the ME". You may not agree. But I know that a lot of people, including me, do agree.

Mel Gibson has no excuses for what he did. After all he had already spent time fighting this issue with his movie, The Passion of Christ, in which he elected to portray the Jewish people not in the best light.
As a Catholic who has heard fellow Catholics speak such bigoted nonsense more than on occasion, I am getting more and more offended by people such as Mel Gibson. History has used many people as scapegoats for their problems and thus what Mel Gibson said is an example that this behavior still lingers.
So if he has contrition it should be private contrition and we should not see his movies. I chose not to see the Passion of Christ because I thought there was subtle prejudice against the Jewish people from what I had read,as well as even more upsetting possible blashphemy, by making all sorts of money on a subject that is something money should never ever even come close to. How could he ever know what the Passion of Christ was like? He tried to rationalize as well as profit off of a religious text. Such things should never be done. And then he showed he is really a bigot in a time of war.
He does not deserve any special attention. He should just go away from all of us and hopefully he will have a change of heart. But it simply is not our worry. It is his worry alone and he should realize that.

Mel will probably survive. That being said, I was never a big Mel movie fan anyway, so this won't affect my Mel viewing habits. Though I did like his 'Simpsons' guest appearance. "All those in favor, say...die!"

Doesn't Mel Gibson have a bajillion dollars already? Seriously, if his career in Hollywood ended last Friday, it's not like we're gonna see him, or his wife and SEVEN children, standing in line for gov't cheese.
SO, I hope we're done hearing from him. He stopped being relevant around 1995 or so.

"Um, are there any "Christians" who actually practice what they preach?

Posted by: Mike 234 | August 2, 2006 03:18 PM"
An ABC poll accompanying some patronizing twaddle (title: "It's the Anti-Semitism, Stupid") shows Jews with 84% favorable and Evangelical Christians with 68% favorable.

I guess there's acceptable bigotry and unacceptable bigotry, and Mike is right on board with what he's being told to think.

Someone mentioned that MG is so short that he has to look up at the camera for the mug shot. Mad Max is on right cable right now and you know what..... I never realized how short MG really is. MG looks normal height when they put him in the foreground, but in the long shots you can tell Mel is tiny, like a skinny Danny Devito.

What is he apologizing for.He said what he feels.It all came out in his drunken stuper.Now that hes sober (or is he) he is blaming his true feelings on the bottle. He was raised in an anti semitic home, heard vile things said by his father and it became ingrained in him.No matter what he sais or does now, the world knows that he is an anti semite. Asking to be forgive wont do it.........

"Um, are there any "Christians" who actually practice what they preach?

Posted by: Mike 234 | August 2, 2006 03:18 PM"
An ABC poll accompanying some patronizing twaddle (title: "It's the Anti-Semitism, Stupid") shows Jews with 84% favorable and Evangelical Christians with 68% favorable.

I guess there's acceptable bigotry and unacceptable bigotry, and Mike is right on board with what he's being told to think.

I believe he should be charged with terroristic statements with regard to telling the arresting officer that he owned Malibu and would f-word the man for arresting Mellie boy for driving recklessly and drunk.

I think Mel is in some serious legal do do.

It's funny all of the jews who are coming out of the woodwork to castigate Mel Gibson as though he inflicted some actual harm on them. Next thing you know he'll be getting tried at the Hague. I know this is a chance to get back at Mel for the POTC but please, aren't there more important things that you've got to worry about at the moment.

You think the reaction is funny? To a people whose grandparents were taken from their homes, sent to concentration camps, and gassed, there is no level of anti-semitism that is unimportant. The fact that people like you think it is not worthy of outrage is what is truly frightening.

Sure, I'll still see his movies. I think in this society, if you want to participate in mainstream American Culture ("Hollywood"), you have to learn to seperate people's public comments from their professional work.

At this point, the only people I really won't pay money for are Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Anyone else? I may not agree with their political/personal opinions (I'm looking at you Alec & Barbra) but if I enjoy their work and feel they do a good job, I'm not going to deny myself that.

I am not Jewish and cannot see it from that perspective. But I 100% believe that this is a matter of people getting pissed off just because it's easy. I would say there's an area of the world with far more dangerous anti-Semitism than Mel Gibson's car.

What an interesting article to show that we always have groups we punish and those who get away with transgressions. They just change. Suppose an 18 year old gets frisky with someone that is 17. They could be a registered sex offender for life. Why not? Serves them right to be in a group that we have decided is "fair game." But the punishment is for one that attacks a group on the favored list. You know who they are. But you do need a program to know who the players are.

"But we'll never see a movie about the Masons (now THERE'S a secret organization)..."

http://www.bessel.org/culture.htm

MLC - Masonic Leadership Center
website about Freemasonry in Culture
Movies, TV, Books, & other Entertainment

" He meant to say "Israel is the major source of instability in the ME". "

Of course it is. Who wants a stable ME with nothing of value ever being produced. What we want is the Pallestinians working with the Israeli to transform the region into a dynamic place of productivity. They don't need to sell oil. They need to make chemicals and plastics and products like thye do in China.

Stability can be death.

Yes, I think Mel will rebound, and I'll still watch his movies.

I think that Mel just said what many people are afraid to say. How many times does Israel get to invade another country before people stop seeing Israel's actions through the guilt of the Holocaust? and no I am not antisemitic, just sick of all the excuses patriarchy uses to force its views on people.

Icc:
Israel is not the jews. Israel is a nation and I too have problems wiht its policies. Legitimate critism of the policies and actions of Israel is okay and nothing the matter with that. Mel unfortunately did not articulate his rant in terms of "Israelis". He did not ask the arresting officer "ARE YOU AN ISRAELI?"

There is a big difference

And I think Mel is and will be a great film maker and this will all blow over.

Mel is a drunk bigot!

http://www.melhatesjews.com

It is a great pity that an actor who was so good in "Year of Living Dangerously" should turn out to be a point-blank bigot.

NO, I could never watch him in a film again, without thinking about how dangerous it is to have a man who is charming on the screen, and a rabid anti-Semite in real life. He doesn't understand what America is about.

He is foul.

R Katz--How many Jews do you know who do disagree with Israel's invasions of neighboring countries? You are arguing semantics.

Can't a guy have an opinion without being hounded...so Mel dislikes Jews and ugly women. The Pope has some problems with Muslims. I mean, who doesn't despair over Jews, ugly women, and Muslims. What's the big deal. Neither Mel nor the Pope called for a Fatwa-like Vegas hitman. And, anyway, much better speaking your mind than being a politically correct non-entity, or, worse, anally retentive assasin of ordinary people and the public good.

Hey, Chrissy, from August 3 posting: every family has it problems. Why don't you try getting over it, and stop bugging others (who are certainly entitled to their opinions) for your obvious failure to seek out mental health iniatives. Many, many other pogroms on the Hitlerian scale have occurred since WWII. Frankly, millions of Americans are sick and tired of hearing Jews continue to whine endlessly about personal losses. And by the way, pogroms, anti-Semitic and others, have enjoyed a generational history on the Continent. Lots of people don't like Jews (whatever the reason). Get over it!